PhD in Engineering Education

Shape the future of engineering education. 

Our PhD program seeks to improve the education of engineers through research, project-based learning paradigms, and integrated design principles. Through our collaboration with the School of Education and other discipline-based education research groups at CU Boulder, our flexible curriculum blends technical expertise with education outcomes. 

The program is designed for students with a background in engineering. As a candidate you can expect to: 

• Conduct and direct research in engineering education. 
• Develop, review and critique research designs that study engineering education. 
• Learn to effectively teach engineering subjects.
• Design and assess engineering courses. 
• Address critical issues facing engineering education. 

Our Faculty Affiliates

Structure of the PhD Program

The 60-credit-hour program includes: 

• Graduate level technical courses in engineering subjects or computer science (9 credits)
• Education-related courses (12 credits)
• Flexible credits toward either technical courses or education (9 credits)
• Dissertation hours (30 credits) 

Admissions Requirements

The application process runs through the CU Graduate School. It requires: 

• Transcripts
  • Unofficial transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended can be provided in the application
  • If you receive and offer of admission and confirm your intent to enroll, you will be required to submit official transcripts
• Three letters of reference
• A personal statement of academic and research interests
  • Please limit to 1000 words; describe why you are choosing to pursue a research-focused doctoral program in engineering education and what has prepared you for this challenge. You should consider including the following information (you aren’t expected to address all bullets):
  • Your academic and research interests, including what motivated you to apply to the Engineering Education program at CU Boulder
  • Your long-term scientific and professional goals and how a PhD in Engineering Education from CU Boulder will help you meet your career goals
  • Your research experiences such as publications, theses, research in progress, and other scholarly activities
  • Relevant past experience, including industry work, teaching, challenging coursework, non-course educational experience, etc. How did the experience prepare or motivate you to do research?
  • Your personal experiences and contributions to support diversity in your education, service activities, or research experiences. (if not addressed in diversity statement)
  • Any relevant information that is not included in the other application components, such as leadership ability, perseverance, and commitment to justice.
• Diversity statement (optional) that describes: how your educational, professional, and/or personal experiences have prepared you to mentor and/or educate students from diverse populations; experiences that have shaped your professional goals and/or vision for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community; etc. (see full prompt on the graduate school application website)
• You will be asked to list up to 5 specific CU faculty among our affiliates who you would be interested in working with.
• GRE scores are optional
• You need at least a 3.00 undergraduate grade point average or a 3.25 grade point average in graduate coursework
• For international PhD applicants the English proficiency requirements have been established by the CU Graduate School